20 years of the Botanic Garden of Wales

** Please note this programme was recorded prior to the outbreak of Corvid-19 in Wales and you are advised to check their website prior to visiting https://botanicgarden.wales/ **

Twenty years ago the National Botanic Garden of Wales opened it's gates. Set in more than 550 acres of beautiful Carmarthenshire countryside at Llanarthne, it's considered to be a true jewel in the Welsh crown. It offers visitors year-round interest in it's landscaped grounds, walled gardens, woodlands and of course the iconic glasshouse housing plants from across the world. However, it hasn't always been an easy development, surviving financial problems and near closure it has now blossomed into a flourishing attraction. As a Botanic garden it's still a work in progress and perhaps still just a sapling! Not long after it opened Melanie Doel visited for Country Focus and returns this week to see how things have grown over the years as it's combined the need to be a tourist attraction with it's role of being a leading scientific centre, dedicated to conservation, horticulture, science and education.